Donald Miller. Through Painted Deserts: Light, God, and Beauty on the Open Road. Thomas Nelson, 2005. 256 pp.
Fueled by the belief that something better exists than the mundane life they’ve been living, free spirits Don and Paul set off on an adventure-filled road trip in search of deeper meaning, beauty, and an explanation for life. Many young men dream of such a trip, but few are brave enough to actually attempt it. Fewer still have the writing skills of Donald Miller, who records the trip with wide-eyed honesty in achingly beautiful prose. In this completely revised edition, he discusses everything from the nature of friendship, the reason for pain, and the origins of beauty.
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Ray Comfort. What Did Jesus Do? A Call to Return to the Biblical Gospel. Genesis, 2005. 176 pp.
What Did Jesus Do? A Call to Return to the Biblical Gospel answers the skeptic’s question “Where is the Law used evangelistically?” The cynic will be surprised to find that three chapters of this book are devoted to Jesus and His use of the Ten Commandments to reach the lost. Two chapters are devoted to Paul’s evangelistic use of the Law. Paul imitated Jesus. So did Stephen, James, Peter, John the Baptist, and Jude. So did Spurgeon, Wesley, Whitefield, and others down through the ages. Each of these men of God did what Jesus did: they used the Law to reach the lost.
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Mark DeVine. Bonhoeffer Speaks Today: Following Jesus at All Costs. B&H, 2005. 179 pp.
Imprisoned and eventually executed for his opposition to Hitler’s regime, the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer continues to fascinate and inspire Christians across the world. His life epitomizes authenticity, commitment, and sacrifice. Devine writes, “When a man willingly exposes himself to suffering and death for his faith and for others, we take notice and with good reason. While martyrdom neither proves nor produces a spiritual giant, the possibility does arise, and this piques a distinctive longing common to followers of Jesus Christ.”
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Brad Stetson & Joseph G. Conti. The Truth About Tolerance: Pluralism, Diversity, and the Culture Wars. IVP, 2005. 207 pp.
We all want to be tolerant.
No one wants to be intolerant. But does that mean we have to accept all truth claims as true? Does this virtue rule out having any strongly held moral convictions?
In this book Brad Stetson and Joseph G. Conti explore the use and misuse of this important value in academic circles and popular media. They note that the pursuit of truth and the pursuit of tolerance are often taken to be mutually exclusive, and it ends with truth having to give way to tolerance.
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Mac Brunson & Ergun Caner. Why Churches Die: Diagnosing Lethal Poisons in the Body of Christ. B&H, 2005. 216 pp.
We are all too aware of the damage poisons can have on our bodies. These ailments find their way into us, invading us, infecting us, and spreading throughout us until the illness is felt all over. There are spiritual poisons that work this way as well, except these ailments invade another kind of body-the spiritual body of Christ. Like the diseases of our physical bodies, these diseases slow the body down, crippling it to function at less than capacity. They limit what the body can do and the effectiveness it can have. If not treated, these diseases can lead to death.
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Rick Richardson. Experiencing Healing Prayer: How God Turns Our Hurts into Wholeness. IVP, 2005. 248 pp.
One restless night Rick Richardson was disturbed throughout his sleep by an image of a man coming at him with a knife. Taking that image seriously set Rick on a profound journey of healing and prayer around issues of masculinity and relationships.
Sometimes we feel spiritually numb, find ourselves emotionally dependent, struggle with addictive behavior, or see a trail of broken relationships behind us. These can be signs that we are in need of God’s healing touch in our lives through prayer–prayer that we can learn and practice in community. In this biblical and very human book, Richardson walks us through the steps we need to receive this gift of healing from God as well as to begin praying for others in their pain.
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Eddie Gibbs. Leadership Next: Changing Leaders in a Changing Culture. IVP, 2005. 237 pp.
Our culture is constantly changing, often faster than we can adapt to it. Christian leaders struggle not only to acquire new skills and insights but also to unlearn what they already know. As both the church and the world change, so too must Christian leaders and their very notions of leadership.
Veteran church growth expert Eddie Gibbs maps out how Christian leadership must change in light of new global realities. Styles of leadership are changing, from hierarchies to networks and from compartmentalization to connectivity. Gibbs assesses the dynamics of leadership teams, identifies healthy leadership traits, and looks to how new leaders are identified and developed. This incisive analysis is a comprehensive resource for current and emerging leaders serving in churches, parachurch organizations and beyond.
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Wayne Grudem, Leland Ryken, C. John Collins, Vern Poythress, Bruce Winter. Translating Truth: The Case for Essentially Literal Bible Translation. Crossway, 2005. 160 pp.
Which translation do I choose?
In an age when there is a wide choice of English Bible translations, the issues involved in Bible translating are steadily gaining interest. Consumers often wonder what separates one Bible version from another.
The contributors to this book argue that there are significant differences between literal translations and the alternatives. The task of those who employ an essentially literal Bible translation philosophy is to produce a translation that remains faithful to the original languages, preserving as much of the original form and meaning as possible while still communicating effectively and clearly in the receptors’ languages.
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James Emery White. Serious Times: Making Your Life Matter in an Urgent Day. IVP, 2005. 192 pp.
How can we make our lives matter?
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson lived in serious times. And, because they chose to live serious lives, they turned the course of history.
As the modern era transitions into postmodern turbulence, we, too, find ourselves in serious times. How can we make a difference in the world around us? How can we be an influence for Christ? Most important, how can we make our lives matter?
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Ray Pritchard. Credo: Believing in Something to Die For. Crossway, 2005. 224 pp.
The Apostles’ Creed is the most widely accepted creed of the church. Brief but powerful, it is so clear and biblical that all branches of Christendom enthusiastically embrace it. When we stand up together and say the creed that begins with, “I believe,” we are expressing many of the core beliefs of the Christian faith.
But have you ever thought about what you’re saying? Whether you recite the Apostles’ Creed every week or hardly ever, all Christians should understand what it means and why it’s important. Pastor Ray Pritchard examines this great creed line-by-line, point-by-point. His explanations are vibrant, thorough, accessible, and firmly rooted in Scripture.
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